<p>While researching colleges, I fell in love with McGill University in Montreal. The problem is I do not speak French, and I have never taken a lesson. I know that the classes are taught in English, but I wanted to ask someone who attends/ has attended if they think speaking French is a necessity for attending, and if it is difficult to get around Montreal only speaking English.</p>
<p>We were in Montreal and only spoke English. Not a problem in Montreal.</p>
<p>Everything in Montreal is in both languages. I’ve had plenty of French but once I was ordering coffee in a shop and the barista asked me what I wanted. I guess I had a stupid look on my face because with barely a pause she asked me again in English. With a perfect English/Canadian accent. Don’t hesitate to apply. </p>
<p>You can get by with just English just fine at McGill, all classes are in English, although you do have the option of taking any exams in French. Montreal is very bilingual for the most part, you can easily get by with just English and some handwaving on occasion. (Although you do on occasion run across someone who treats English-only speakers rather rudely.) Rural Quebec and Quebec City are a different story, with Quebec City being somewhat English friendly in the tourist parts, but you’ll be in the weeds in rural Quebec.</p>
<p>And just for the record, Canadian French and French French are two rather different languages, so if you want to learn to speak it, just plan on doing so while there.</p>
<p>There are about 500,000 Anglophones (English mother tongue) residents of metropolitan Montreal, mostly living on the west side. In fact, from the McGill campus downtown to the western tip of the island English is the dominant language.</p>
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<p>They are different languages only in the sense that American English and British English are different languages. </p>